Complex Cognition: A New Theoretical Foundation for the Design and Evaluation of Visual Analytics Systems
Xiaolong Zhang (Luke)

TL;DR
This paper proposes adopting complex cognition theories to improve the design and evaluation of visual analytics systems, addressing the mismatch between simple cognitive models and complex analytical tasks.
Contribution
It introduces a new theoretical foundation based on complex cognition theories to enhance research validity in visual analytics system design and evaluation.
Findings
Current methods limit validity due to simple cognitive assumptions
Complex cognition theories better align with analytical tasks
Guides for future research in visual analytics design
Abstract
Current research on visual analytics systems largely follows the research paradigm of interactive system design in the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), and includes key methodologies including design requirement development based on user needs, interactive system design, and system evaluation. However, most studies under this paradigm have a contradiction: there is a significant mismatch between the research methods developed for simple cognitive behaviors (e.g., color perception, the perception of spatial relationship among interactive artifacts) and research goals targeting for complex analytical behaviors (e.g., reasoning, problem-solving, decision-making). This mismatch may hurt the theoretical contributions of research studies, in particularly the internal validity of a designed system and the external validity of design methods. To address this challenge, this paper…
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Taxonomy
TopicsData Visualization and Analytics · Usability and User Interface Design · Innovative Human-Technology Interaction
